Well, I really didn’t want to share this story with anybody else, but I ultimately decided that perhaps it would be best to express my slightly embarrassing experience with others. Some may find it funny; others may find it a little upsetting. Yet, that’s what blogs are for, to receive different perspectives. To begin, a couple of weeks ago I and along with the other interns here in the Dominican Republic received an email from the central office warning everybody about the sudden outbreak of Dengue Fever. Dengue fever is an illness that is contracted through mosquito bites. For 15 days, the individual is overcome with intense sweating, body ache, nausea, diarrhea, and a head ache. Needless to say, it is not a pleasurable experience.
I was out in the field about one hour away from the central office. As usual, we were visiting communities to receive the loans that were owed to us. During the second meeting, I started feeling an intense headache. It was an aggravating pressure as if it were applied by large pliers on my temples. I thought it was just because I was dehydrated, which is usually the case. Yet, after forcing down some food and drinking plenty of water, I began feeling worse. And yet, the worst was yet to come.
In the state of Hato Mayor, from tip to tip, the roads are horrendous. Potholes are ubiquitous, and many roads are not even paved. It makes long trips a nightmare because it feels as if you are on a boat lost at sea rocking back and forth. I get car sick easy enough on paved roads, so I always dread the long trips to other communities. As we were returning to the head office, I began feeling worse, and the car ride certainly did not make things better. For an hour, I felt as if my insides were let loose and rolling around inside my body, floating carelessly in the liquids of my body. You know that 8-ball toy that you shake around and ask it questions? Well, my inside felt like that. I could hear them slamming against my ribs, making similar sounds that the little triangle in the 8-ball makes when swished around violently.
When we finally arrived back at the office, I could barely see straight. I knew it was something serious, and asked to go home. I was so dizzy that I couldn’t even speak or understand Spanish. Eventually, I was able to demonstrate the fact that I was not feeling well and one of the drivers took me home.
At home I began feeling worse. I started to sweat buckets and my entire body ached. All I could think was that for the next 15 days my state would only worsen. On the news I heard of many stories of people dying from Dengue fever. I called all my friends to look up the symptoms of Dengue, and apparently I had every symptom. I went downstairs to tell my brother the situation. I spoke to him in English while he translated, since I could barely even think. My host mother said not to worry, that it was just a fever. She said that my host sister was feeling the same way the other day. I decided to calm my nerves and trust them.
